Aura Assassin
by MyLifeMyRules
Summary: Ash left his old life after the Sinnoh League. After ending a major threat that could have torn the world apart. He finds himself free of his obligations. But for how long? Older Ash/Slightly Darker. Ash/Cynthia.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys! I know! I know! I'm really late! I sowwies! :'( But i has first chapter! Read and Review! I love you all! Your incredibly patient people!**

**Aura Assassin**

**Chapter 1**

A man was sitting in his desk, trying to force his thoughts away from what he thought was truly inevitable. "No!" The man exclaimed at himself fiercely. I have taken every precaution, I will not fail as the others have. "I am the leader of the most powerful organization in the world. I am invincible!" Sure, the organization had had some set-backs, but all organizations did at one time or another, right? They would bounce back from this, he would find new generals he could place his trust in, they would re-build their bases, they would come back stronger and better than ever.

The man had finally convinced himself of the fact and leaned back, relaxing into his chair more completely. His thoughts turned to all his generals and other high-ranking officials they had had in the organization. It started about a year ago. They were becoming more powerful by the minute, recruiting hundreds of people on a weekly basis, the ex-members of teams that had once graced the regions, as well as other criminals from lowly thugs to high-stake bank robber's and then some. People streamed into the new organization with incredible speed.

Recently however, there had been far too many set-backs. Men killed, bases destroyed, operations that had been planned out for months being stopped with little to no effort, as if the enemy had known what they had planned from the start. It was far from simply being bad luck, and no matter how hard he tried, he simply could not push the rumors out of his head. The man sighed in frustration, his view on things taking a complete U-turn as he continued where he left off earlier, brooding over all the mishaps and setbacks.

The rumors where something to consider. The more he thought about it the more unreal it seemed, but at the same time, it could be one of the only explanations. Rumors such as this one had been started before, never any real proof to them, but always at times where things happening made them just believable enough to spread.

A knock on the door brought the man out of his thoughts quickly, he jumped in his seat and his hand automatically went to where a small dagger was hidden on his belt. He searched the room for a few moments before realizing it was only an intern, bringing him his morning coffee. His hand relaxed as he moved it away from the hidden dagger on his belt.

How perfect his own personal headquarters were. Based in an office in a tall business building, a business in which even he did not even know the name of. The office had been vacant for several months, and in such a big business he had been able to move into the office without stirring up any questions. They few people who noticed would simply assume he worked for the business, having no reason to believe otherwise. The true headquarters of his organization would be simply too obvious. Having a secret office in a place no one would ever expect a leader of a large organization to be was simply perfect.

His enemies would never find him there, they would never even spare a thought to him being outside of his giant base. His enemies... Those damn Aura Guardians. They would always interfere with his plans. They would strut around believing they were a gift to mankind. Interfering in things that had absolutely nothing to do with them. Sticking their noses where they didn't belong. The man took a deep breath, the Aura Guardians would fall like all the rest that stood in his way. No one could stop him, and no one would.

Shaking his head, he walked towards the door, another bonus of working in a large business building, the interns brought him drinks, food, and mostly whatever he wanted while he was busy working.

Unlocking the door, and opening it, he put on his best face, doing his best to keep up the facade that he was a simple business man. "Hello there young man, how are you doing this beautiful morning?" he asked the intern in a voice that could make most anyone believe that he actually cared.

"I'm doing good Sir. I brought you your morning coffee. Is there anything else you need?" the young intern asked, after handing the freshly made, hot cup of coffee over to the man.

"Oh, no thank you son, lots of work to do, afraid a coffee is all I'll have time for this morning."

"Of course Sir." The young man smiled slightly at being dismissed, and without another thought, turned on his heel and walked away, dreams of rising in the business and having boys bring him coffee dancing in his head.

The man closed the door and took a sip of the coffee. "Yukk!" he spat, spitting the coffee in his mouth straight into the garbage. He observed the liquid closely, finally deciding that no matter how hard he tried, he would never like coffee, he sat the mug on his desk.

He felt a cool breeze and looked over toward the window, realizing that it was slightly opened. He stared at it for awhile before he quickly scanned every inch of the room, he searched every corner, under his desk, behind the ugly plant that had been there when he moved in. He found nothing and shook off the feeling, muttering something about being paranoid.

He walked over to the window, looking out he could see the entire city below him. He was on the eighty-ninth floor, the thought of that easily erasing any thought of an intruder, "Damn wind." he muttered as he closed the window.

Turning around he took a step back towards his desk, not knowing that in his incredibly thorough search of the room, he had made a mistake that so many people make, not knowing that when he neglected to look up, he had lost the game, and not knowing that the step he just took towards his desk, would be his last.

Not a sound was made as the man fell backward, a blade protruding from his neck, and a cloaked figure, who had been hanging from the tall chandelier, on top of him, the blade protruding from his neck, was also the one that was coming from the cloaked figures wrist. The man's last thoughts were of how the rumors had been true, an Aura Assassin had come, and how years of his hard work and sweat, was now gone.

The cloaked figure stared at the man's unmoving body, the strange blue blade, whose origin came from the cloaked figures wrist, disapeared in an instant, the only proof it had been there at all was the hole that went through the dead man's neck.

The figure got off the man and pulled out a device from his pocket, after pressing a few buttons in quick succession he held the device to his ear.

"Riley." The voice on the other end of the device answered.

"It's done." Was all the cloaked figure said.

"Good, good," the voice on the other end seemed to be deep in thought. "meet me at the island. We have much to discuss."

The cloaked firgure closed the device and without a backwards glance, he opened the window. Staring at the horizon, where the sun was just coming into full view, he crouched on the sill of the window.

As quickly as he had gotten onto the ledge, he stood up, arms spread wide, and allowed himself to fall forward. Away from the office with the body, which would be removed before anyone would notice, and away from the last person on a long list that had been set to end a war before it even started. The war against the quickly growing, and extremely dangerous organization was over. He had to wonder what that would mean for him.

As he fell further, gravity working with him as he hurdled closer and closer to the earth, the only thoughts on his mind were about his future.

**So? I know, short, but its's first chapter, and i thought this would be the best way to start it :D**

**Let me know if you like it, love it, hate it :P TY for spending your time reading this :)**

**I honestly don't know how often I will be able to update, with school, homework, ya know! all that crap! I'll try to update whenever I can though!**

**~MyLifeMyRules~**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey Guys! - Er.. idk why, I just feel weird if I don't say hey up here? Riight... Anyhow..  
**

**Disclaimer : I do not own Pokemon. If I did, I probably wouldn't be writing this?**

**Aura Assassin**

**Chapter 2**

* * *

The cloaked figure sat on a stiff chair, in front of him a group of five people stared down at him from a big desk, set up on a platform to make anyone before them realize that they were in charge. Four of them had blank stares on their face as they looked down at the young nineteen year old man, the fifth however, who sat furthest to the young man's right had an uneasy look on his face.

"You know why your here, I presume?" The man in the middle asked him, his voice emotionless.

The young man stared at him from under his cowl, if it hadn't been hiding his features he had no doubt that he would be dead for the look of sarcasm that graced his face. Of course he knew why he was here, he had requested the audience, but the council would do anything to try and assert their dominance over him.

"The threat of the organization is over. The promise that was made to you by my late master has been fulfilled. You no longer have any hold over me." The cloaked figure said, his voice emotionless, but carrying an air of power that dared them to argue.

"Hmm... So you are requesting that we simply let you walk away? I'm not so sure we can do that. You have been given information that could prove harmful to us if it fell into the wrong hands. I'm afraid that you will have to stay here, and continue to work under us, not only for our safety, but for your own." The man in the middle of the group said.

The man on the far right had gone from looking uneasy to extremely nervous. His colleagues had no hold over this man and to claim such would end very badly for them.

"Being concerned for your own safety is very understandable." The cloaked figure said in a tone that mimicked defeat, the cowl preventing them from seeing a dark smirk.

The four figures on the left all had triumphant expressions on their faces. That would not last long.

"Which is why I suggest you dismiss any idea of trying to hold me here," the voice started again, a sinister tone creeping into his voice, "because it may very well be the last thing that you do."

The room grew deathly quiet, triumphant expressions turning solemn on all but the man in the middle, who scowled at him.

"You threaten us? The Aura Council is the most powerful of the Aura Guardians, yet you have the audacity to disrespect and threaten us? We should kill you right now for you insolence."

The cloaked man let out an inaudible sigh as he thought back to Riley's words before he had come.

"_The council will do everything in their power to keep you here. They want to control you, use you, you must not let them gain any control over you, it would very possibly end the world as we know it."_

There was no way he would be controlled, for the past four years he had worked with these five men, putting his life, his sanity, on the line so that innocent people wouldn't get hurt.

"Try if you wish, I tire of this petty argument. Know however, that you will fail, either way I will be free to go. You may have a hold on the Aura Guardians, but you have no control of an Aura Assassin."

The man in the middle looked completely outraged, he opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by a rather stout man to his right.

"Assassin, you have made your point. Though I must remind you that should the time come for..."

"I know very well what will happen, and when it does I will be there. You however have no control of how I spend the time between now and then."

The man nodded, desperate to calm the assassin. He knew he wouldn't stand a chance, and honestly doubted the five of them together would.

"You are free to go." the man stated, looking at the others, all but the man in the middle nodded their approval, none of them eager to test themselves against the young man. "Aura guide you, Assassin."

The man got up and left without a backwards glance closing the chamber door behind him, all of the council members letting out a sigh of relief as it swung shut silently behind him.

* * *

The cloaked man let out a similar sigh of relief as the door swung shut behind him.

"Ash!"

The cloaked man turned to his right and saw Riley running towards him. The ghost of a smile made its way to his face as he saw him bump into someone, knocking them over. After offering them a hand and apologizing profusely he made his way over to the cloaked man.

"Ash!" he rested his hands on his knees, breathing like he had just ran a marathon. After a few moments he had caught his breath and went on, "How did it go?"

"Fine, they didn't put up much of a fight."

Riley looked relieved and eyed him carefully, "So what are you going to do now?"

"You truly have to ask?"

"I... Ash... You do realize that it has been nearly three years. He could be anywhere. He could even be..." Riley trailed off, knowing it was a sore subject.

"He is not dead. I may not know where he is, but I can feel him."

Riley sighed knowing nothing he said would change his mind. "Just... Be careful? He could be anywhere."

Ash looked at him closely and nodded. "He's somewhere in Sinnoh."

"And how do you know that?"

"I just do." Was all he said, it was all he needed to say.

"Well I guess you're headed to Sunyshore then. I got a report earlier, the Battle Pyramid is outside of the City."

Ash looked at him curiously, "Why would you be getting a report about that?"

Riley gave a sly grin, "Figured you could use all the help you could get, and who better to help you?"

The corners of Ash's mouth twitched upwards in the smallest of a smile. "Thank you, Riley."

"You're welcome. Now get out of here, go find him." Riley said, before adding, "And.. Ash? Don't let this rule your life. Don't... Don't let what you are ruin who you are."

"Is there truly a difference between what and who I am? Either way I am a killer."

Riley sighed, looking at Ash's eyes. They used to be so bright and blue, bright enough they could practically light a dark room entirely. Now they had become a dull, dark blue, almost bordering on black.

"There is a difference between killing for sick joy, and killing for necessity." Riley was going to continue but Ash spoke before he could.

"Necessity? Necessity? Was it truly a necessity for them to die Riley?" Ash had rounded on him, his voice cold enough to make Riley flinch.

"Ash, you know it was..."

"Do I? Could they not have been arrested? Could they not have been placed in jail?" Ash paused, but when Riley was about to speak he spoke up again. "Of course they could have. The Guardians could have arrested the men and put them in jail, but an assassin like me comes and you throw morals out the window. It's easier for the Guardians to order them killed when they don't have the blood on their hands."

Ash shook his head and started walking away, turning back to Riley when he reached the door. "I am bound by promises not mine to help you in times of great need. Make sure the Guardians don't think they have any other type of control over me. It is not they who decide what is a time of great need. And if they over-step their boundaries again, they can easily become the next reason for one of those times."

Riley's eyes were wide and mouth slightly agape, with one last glance Ash was out of sight, leaving the stunned Aura Guardian to reflect on what he had said.

* * *

Ash jumped off his large dragon, looking at the large pyramid before him. Turning back to the dragon he gave it a soft smile and a pat on the head, the dragon smiled and bit him gently on this own head. "Take a rest, Garchomp."

After returning the dragon to his pokeball Ash stared at the large pyramid.

"_Master. Why are we at this strange building? Should we not be looking for..." _Ash turned to the owner of the voice that echoed through his mind.

Ash smiled, it had become a rare feature to appear on his face. "An old friend is here, and with any luck, he will be able to help us."

"_Someone actually lives in this strange structure Master?"_

"It provides a way to get around for one who must travel a lot."

"_Travel?"_

"The man who lives here is the Battle Frontier Champion. He travels to all the regions to accept the challenges of those who have defeated all the frontier brains in one region." He explained.

"_I see. How does such a monstrous structure travel though? ... Never mind, we should spend our time looking for him, not trying to understand strange flying machines. I apologize, Master."_

"Nothing to apologize for Lucario. Curiosity is not a sin."

Lucario nodded and followed Ash as they headed for the entrance to the, as Lucario called it, monstrous structure. He searched the door, and rolled his eyes when he saw a rectangle on the side, vertical the long way, with a small light inside.

"I can't believe he put a doorbell on the Battle Pyramid..." Ash muttered before pressing it.

Moments later the door swung outward, like a bridge being lowered over a moat. Lucario assumed a battle stance at the sight, alert for any danger.

Ash placed a calming hand on her shoulder, letting him know there was no danger. Lucario relaxed, but still sent her aura out, scanning the area.

With the door finally open all the way they saw a figure, cloaked in the shadows of the entrance, as he eyed them carefully.

The figure in the entrance locked eyes with Ash, who had his hood pulled up and over his head, covering his face in the shadows. Their impromptu staring contest lasted for several moments before the man in the entrance smiled.

"The almighty assassin has joined the rest of us mortals then? I take it our world is no longer in danger?" The man said, the smirk plainly evident on his face.

"For now your pitiful life and meaningless existence is safe." Ash replied in a bored monotone.

"You'll forgive me for not skipping the pyramid's perimeter in joy?" The man asked sarcastically before stepping out into the light, his roughly shoulder length purple hair now visible.

"I may manage to find it in me to forgive you. The true question is, will you be able to forgive yourself?"

The man who had exited the pyramid raised an eyebrow at the hooded figure. "I give." he said, inwardly flinching at the horrible explanation that was no doubt about to come.

"Twenty years from now, when you've retired rich, happy, and _fat_. You may look back on this day and regret not taking full advantage of this opportunity to skip the battle pyramid's perimeter." Ash said, his hood hiding the small smile on his face as he spoke in a completely emotionless voice.

The man cocked his head to the side and blinked a few times, before shaking it. "Nice to see your sense of humor hasn't left you completely."

"The memory of you screaming like a little girl and running into a tree is enough for a laugh or two." Ash said, the smile evident in his voice now.

"Not everyone can look seven people with big swords in the face and laugh at them. Which, may I remind you, only served in pissing them off more."

"They were easily taken care of when they doubled over laughing at the site of you holding your bloodied nose after you lost your fight with a tree."

"I..." the man chuckled softly at the memory, "What's up Ash? Why are you here? Not that I'm not glad to see you, I just, figured you'd be looking for..."

"I am, and I thought you might be able to help."

The man gave a small smile, "If that's all you wanted you could have just asked."

"I could have, but it's more fun messing with you, Paul."

Paul stared at him before letting out a sigh. Then, a rather evil idea came to him, his face lighting up in a smirk.

"That smirk on your face means I'm not going to like what you're about to say." Ash said, stating the obvious.

"I'll help you, but I have one condition." Paul started, the smirk growing. "You have to come with me tonight."

"I'm afraid to ask where we are going." Ash muttered. "Please tell me it's just some fight you got yourself into in a deserted back alley or something."

The smirk on Paul's face only grew as he looked at Ash. "Every year the members of the Sinnoh Pokemon League and Battle frontier have a party. I was 'specially invited' and Scott accepted the invitation for me."

"Can't you make up some excuse for not going?" Ash asked, fear of where this was going slipping into his voice.

"Don't you think I've tried that? Like it or not, and believe me, I don't like it, I have to go. But, I'm reminded of an old saying, 'every cloud has a silver lining'. My silver lining is that I won't be suffering alone." Paul was almost beaming at the idea of not being put through hell by himself.

"I'm not a member of the Sinnoh Pokemon League, or the Battle frontier." Ash said, using his only lifeline.

Paul smiled, "Consider yourself formally invited by the Battle Frontier Champion."

Ash let out a long sigh, "Why do they even create such a torturous event?"

"They actually enjoy it from what I've been told. Don't tell me the Aura Assassin is afraid of a little social gathering?" Paul mock-taunted him.

"I.. I just don't like being surrounded by numerous people." Ash muttered.

Paul looked at him carefully. He could easily understand where that was coming from. Living for four years on constant alert, always being aware of your surroundings and always keeping your back to a wall would make anyone wary of crowds, or multiple people.

"You'll have to get used to it again, and I can guarantee you that nobody there will be looking to slip a knife into you. Even if they wanted to I doubt they would get very far." Paul could tell he was still tense from the idea, "It's not like we are going to be surrounded. All we have to do is sit at a table, listen to music, and watch frontier brains, gym leaders, and elite four members make fools of themselves."

"Fine..." Ash murmured.

Paul smiled, "It won't be too bad."

"Yea right..."

* * *

"The 'Sinnoh Party of the Year' is at a gym?" Ash asked staring incredulously at the Sunyshore Gym in front of them.

Paul shrugged. "This is going to be torture." he muttered when they were in range to hear the extremely loud music blaring inside.

Ash smirked, his hands glowing a soft blue before placing them against his ears. Upon removing them his face was one of bliss, the loud music becoming little more than a buzzing in the background.

Paul looked at him curiously, "What did you do?" Before realizing that whatever he did affected his hearing, and he probably wouldn't hear him.

"Altered the sound waves, basically anything above a certain volume is blocked. Difficult to explain, easy to do." Ash said, smirking at the envy on Paul's face.

Paul opened his mouth to say something before closing it again. Ash decided to take pity on him, if this was anyone's fault, it was Scott's for accepting Paul's invitation for him, his hands started glowing blue as he placed them inches away from his ears. A few moments passed and his face lit up as the loud, annoying music dwindled into nothingness.

"This torturous event just became much more endurable."

Ash smirked, "You owe me."'

"Don't worry, tomorrow we can start searching. I don't suppose you have any idea where we should start?"

"No idea. I can follow him to Sinnoh, after that I can't trace it."

"Perhaps we could find someone who would know something?" Paul asked curiously. "I highly doubt someone like him would pass notice for three years."

Ash paused, he hadn't thought of that. This was exactly why he needed someone like Paul, someone to think of the blatantly obvious. He personally always had a tendency to over-think things.

They arrived at a small table in a deserted corner, Ash sitting in the corner chair, feeling much better now that he had something solid against his back again. A woman walked over to them with a smile, taking out a pad and pen while looking each of them over carefully.

"What are the most handsome men at this party doing all the way over here?" She asked with a flirtatious smile.

"Not the party type." Paul answered, unmoved by the woman who was wearing clothes many times too small for her.

"That's too bad, would you be the party type if I told you I was off in an hour and looking for some company?" She asked, her lower lip sticking out in a pouty face that would have many men wrapped around her finger in an instant.

Paul looked up, slightly amused, "Could I get a beer?"

Her pout became more pronounced as she scribbled on her notepad, before turning to Ash. Her flirty smile coming back instantly. She opened her mouth to speak but was cut off.

"Water. And to answer your question, no."

The woman sighed, scribbling something else down before walking away, muttering something about how they must have been gay.

They both rolled their eyes, "They sure know how to pick their waitresses." Ash said.

"Flint, Volkner, and Aaron planned this, what did you expect? Honestly I'm surprised there aren't strippers and pole dancers."

Ash smirked, but it faded a couple seconds later as he felt three people approaching them. He turned his head to the side, seeing the shadows make their way over to them. He mentally cursed himself for having Lucario wait at the Battle Pyramid as his eyes glowed slightly, his aura heightening his sight so he could make out who the shadows where.

Paul, who noticed this turned his head as well as the figures made their way over, the flashing strobe lights made it impossible to see anything that was further than three feet away.

Ash relaxed, sitting back in his chair and crossing his arms as the figures arrived. Paul relaxed as well, knowing that if Ash had relaxed then the three figures must be familiar.

"Ahh, Paul. I'm surprised your actually here. When Scott had accepted your invitation almost everyone thought you wouldn't show up."

Paul looked up, the figures close enough now so he could manage to make out who they were. Standing before him was the Sinnoh Champion, Cynthia, and two members of the Sinnoh Elite Four, Lucian and Bertha. The latter being the one who had spoken.

"Didn't have a choice really." Paul said as he motioned for them to sit down, not surprised that the three of them weren't partying like wild animals.

"We saw you enter and figured you could use some company. Being alone at an event this atrocious is truly awful, we thought we could provide you some conversation." Lucian said, looking overall disgusted at the event that they were at.

"I'm not..." Paul looked over at the chair in the corner and saw nothing. Well, to be more exact he saw darkness. Paul rolled his eyes, he knew Ash was there but decided not to say anything. Honestly wishing he could do whatever it was Ash was doing to make himself seem to disappear.

"I.. appreciate your company, thank you." Paul said, looking back at the three people in front of him.

They smiled, "How is being Champion going Paul? I would love to have a battle with you one day, Sinnoh Champion vs Battle Frontier Champion."

Paul smiled at Cynthia, "It has been interesting, I've only had three challengers but they have easily been some of the toughest battles I've ever had."

Cynthia nodded, understanding where he was coming from, "As a Champion you only face the best."

Paul nodded, his attention breaking as the waitress placed a beer in front of him, still looking upset about earlier.

"Here's your beer." She said, trying little to be polite. "And here's your wat..." She trailed off as she sat the water in front of the seat in the corner. "Hey, where did the hunk with blue highlights go?" She asked curiously.

Paul looked at her, and back to the three people who were looking at him curiously.

"I thought you were alone Paul?" Bertha asked curiously.

"No, he is with this really hot guy. He was just here a minute ago." The waitress butted in, obviously hoping for a second chance with the man who had previously evaded her advances.

Bertha looked at the waitress in concern, "Are you okay dear? Maybe you should sit down for a moment."

"What? No. I'm fine, I think I would remember the guy that turned me down before I even asked."

Paul opened his mouth to say something but was cut off.

"Thank you."

All heads spun to the corner chair where Ash was now visible, picking up his water and taking a sip of it.

"Whaa? Ah forget it... I'll just go find someone else to spend the night with. Your way to much work for what I have in mind." The waitress stated before she turned on her heel and walked away.

Paul turned to the three who were staring in relative shock at the man who had appeared from nowhere and sighed. '_This will be fun'_ he thought with a smile and turned to Ash as well.

Ash placed the water back down on the table, his arms crossed over his chest and his gaze fixed on an interesting warp in the table. He wasn't completely sure why he had hidden himself, he had met Lucian, Bertha, and Cynthia and knew them relatively well before, well before all this had happened. Seeing three people from his past had just triggered something in him, telling him to hide.

The most troubling thing for him however was what had happened when he had looked at Cynthia. Before even knowing who she was his aura had jumped, and upon realizing who it was it had jumped again, which was incredibly strange. Aura wasn't just a form of energy, although it was that, it was more. Aura was the basis of every living thing, and as such, it was a living thing in itself.

There were hundreds of accounts in history where aura had not only helped, but guided in its own way the people who used it. If his aura was responding to Cynthia in such a way, then he would be foolish to ignore it. As he stared into the warped wood of the table his mind was wondering, trying to understand what he should do. While his aura responded to her, it didn't give him any hint or clue as to what it meant. It was a puzzle that he would have to figure out alone.

Breaking out of his thought he looked up to meet three shocked faces, each including widened eyes and jaws slightly agape. He looked at Paul, who raised an eyebrow.

_'Shit.' _he thought to himself as his eyes wandered back to the three people in front of him.

"It's a pleasure to meet you." Ash said, in an attempt to play off the whole 'seeming to appear out of nowhere' thing.

All three of them simultaneously blinked a few times, Bertha breaking out of her confusion first.

"I apologize for staring, you startled me. I don't think any of us heard you sit down." She held out her hand, "Allow me to introduce myself, I'm Bertha."

Ash smiled slightly, the human mind would analyze situations, and if there was no probable explanation as to why something happened, it would make up an excuse that made sense to it. Ash was silently thanking the human mind as he accepted the hand offered to him.

Lucian spoke next, now that Bertha had come up with a conclusion his mind had taken it into consideration and agreed to it. "My name is Lucian, It's a pleasure to meet a friend of Paul's, even if he forgot that he hadn't come alone." He held out his hand as he shot Paul a look.

Ash smirked on the inside as he accepted the hand, while Paul just shrugged. "Slipped my mind."

Cynthia, who was still looking at him curiously held out her own hand. "Cynthia." She introduced herself simply, obviously deep in thought.

Ash accepted her offered hand as well, though as soon as his skin came in contact with hers his aura spiked. His hand was starting to glow, and out of reflex he cut off the aura that had been sent rushing to his hand. His eyes were wide as he stared at his hand, as far as he knew it was impossible for the aura inside of someone to act by itself, and that was exactly what his had just done. He knew now that he had to figure out what his aura was trying to tell him.

He looked up at Cynthia, his eyes meeting hers, from the look in them she had obviously felt something. Her eyes shifted down to look at her hand as they both slowly pulled their hands away.

Lucian, Bertha, and Paul were looking at the two curiously, while Paul's curiosity had more of an amused side.

No one was sure what to say until to everyone's surprise a slow song started to play. Music flooded into Ash and Paul's ears as the slow song passed through the barrier, not loud enough to be blocked by the guard Ash had placed.

Bertha smiled and looked at Lucian, "Care to join an old woman in a dance?" She asked smiling.

Lucian smiled back, "It would be my pleasure."

Cynthia, Ash, and Paul all looked at the two as they walked over to the dance floor, careful to avoid the drunk dancers who were spinning wildly.

Paul opened his mouth to make a sarcastic remark when he felt a hand on his shoulder. "Hey Paul! I can't believe you actually came! I didn't think you would, you never went to any of the parties back at Veilstone."

Paul turned to see a familiar face, the Veilstone City Gym Leader, Maylene. "I didn't have much of a choice." He said for what felt like the millionth time.

Maylene nodded, before grabbing his hand and pulling him out of his chair, which she did relatively easily. "Come on! Dance with me?" She asked.

"I don't.." He was cut off as she pulled him off onto the dance floor. Ash and Cynthia barely hearing something about either dance or get his ass kicked.

Ash chuckled softly as he watched Paul, face red, place his hands on her hips and look around awkwardly as she rested her head on his shoulder.

He turned to see Cynthia looking at him curiously. He quickly replaced the smile on his face with an expressionless mask as he looked at her.

"It appears everyone else is dancing, would you like to?" Cynthia asked him softly, almost shyly, looking out at all the people dancing slowly on the dance floor.

"I don't dance." Ash answered, reflexively declining any offer to put him in direct contact with a person.

Cynthia nodded, but Ash could see something in her eyes, it looked like... disappointment?

Ash's Aura spiked, making him wince slightly as it pulsed around in his body. "I uhmm.. I would be willing to try though." Ash said softly.

Cynthia's eyes brightened, and a small smile appeared on her face as Ash took her hand. His aura settling as he led her out onto a relatively deserter corner of the dance floor.

Her arms wrapped around his neck, as her eyes met him. The man who seemed so calm, collected, and almost cold in a way looked extremely nervous as he awkwardly placed his hands on her hips. She smiled softly when she saw his cheeks turning a shade of red.

Something about him had caught her attention the moment he had 'appeared' and she couldn't shake this feeling that she knew him. He looked familiar in a strange way, though she was sure she had never seen anyone who looked like him before.

She looked up at him, having to tilt her head slightly as he was a couple inches taller than her. Bright blue met soul gray as their eyes locked. Ash felt his aura in him again, not spiking or painful, just a soft tingle that told him this was right. He took in her appearance, she was easily the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, but what impressed him more was how bright and pure her aura seemed.

As Cynthia stared into his eyes, she grew more and more sure that she had met him before. Her eyes traveled over his face. A small smile and blush made its presence known on her face. _'He's cute'_ she thought, only serving in making her smile and blush grow. _'Cute and familiar.' _Then she realized she had never caught his name, something she probably should have realized earlier, but was too busy trying to figure out who he was.

She paused, trying to figure out her own logic, but gave up. "I don't think I ever caught your name." She said softly, looking up at him, seeing his eyes fixed on hers the whole time.

Ash looked at her, not sure if it was the way she asked, or the fact that his aura was still tingling inside of him, but at that moment he was almost sure she could have asked him anything and he would have done it without hesitation.

"It's Ash."

She seemed to think about it for a moment, before looking up at him. The familiar eyes, though a different color still managed to give off an incredible warmth, even if it wasn't as much as they had before. It felt like someone had flipped a switch in her mind as everything clicked.

"Ash?" She asked in shock.

Ash nodded, he hadn't expected her to recognize him, but wasn't sure if it was a bad thing. Quickly deciding that it wasn't as he felt her arms tighten around his neck, pulling him into a bone crushing hug.

* * *

**Hey Guys! Okay. I got lots of things to tell you all. **

**-First off. I'm not entirely happy with this chapter. I had horrible horrible horrible writer's block like you wouldn't believe! I know where I'm going with this story, but getting there is what has my head spinning.**

**I usually read over my chapters a couple times before I post them, but it's getting late, and I want to get this up. So, I'm sorry for some of the misspells and such. I figured you guys had been waiting long enough.**

**I had a few ideas about where to go with this chapter, I can't tell you how many times I started writing only to delete everything I had just wrote and start again. I hope I haven't disappointed any of you. **

**-Second. My absence. WOW~! So much shit has happened. I know this is waaaaay over-due and I hate myself for making you all wait so long. But I haven't left, I'm still here and I'm going to do everything I can to update for all of you more frequently. **

**I know, you don't want my excuses, but here they are**

**I had horrible writer's block**

**I had school. BUT! It's getting closer to the end and once summer is here, boy you all better get ready for update-galore!**

**I broke my left wrist. And writing with one hand sucks. I'll spare you the embarrasing story of how I broke it.**

**I had appendacitus – I know I spelled that wrong. Basically I had a fever, dizziness, severe pain in my gut. I finally had it taken out and I feel so much better now.**

**I missed like a week and a half of school from that whole episode and making up that much work is gruesome.**

**There are my excuses, I know, they don't make up for my absence but I promise I will update sooner!**

**Okay- Things you guys can expect in the future from this story!**

**Epic Ash/Cynthia Fluff. -Although I'm not going to rush their relationship, you can bet theres gunna be lotsa fluff!**

**The story behind Paul and Ash?**

**More about the past four years of Ash's life as an Aura Assassin.**

**Most importantly – Several dozen virtual cookies, and a special shout out in the next chapter to the first person who guesses who Ash is looking for. (Not really that hard to figure out, but hey, thats why you gotta be first :D )**

**Thank you all for bearing with me. Thank all of you who have reviewed. Your reviews make me smile like nothing else. Feel free to review, I look forward to constructive criticism, just, be a little easy on me for this chap? :-)**

**~MyLifeMyRules~**


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